5th update in a row that has made it close to impossible to connect a kickr bike to a pc by BTE.
companion app also didn’t work, before and after updating the app. ant+ connection paired but had drop outs.
Also seeing some wonky logic with controllers pairing.
before that one dude asks me to rebuild windows again - I tried that approach before and it didn’t help. Once Zwift rolled out a patch update it resolved and was stable.
in the land of engineering this tends to imply that a bug is being reintroduced or a settings file is not updated or included initially. Potentially a piece of code or file in the wider pairing bug fix
For clarity this isn’t really drop outs, I can’t get the BTE version to show in the menus. If it does popup it will take me spinning at 90rpm for 3 to 10mins and then it will lose connection. Assioma bte shows up more easily, but also takes a number of minutes to be picked up.
ANT shows instantly but is inconsistent, potentially because I’m also connecting bte controllers and HRM. I also find that ant kickr bike gives a sticky power profile at times.
First few times I thought it was on my end, tried restart, full windows reinstall, bought new bte dongle, bought new usb cable for it, replaced drivers on the bte radio. Rolled back windows updates, took experimental / preview versions. It was not me. Once they patched the initial role out it was fixed each time… until another version update.
Prior to this UB400 the reason why I started off using ANT+ was because I just had some cheapo ebay special that was supposed to be some higher version and capable of more connections (which is not.. how any of this works for the record, or didn’t certainly back when I got it). I think it stated it was supposed to be BLE5.1, but it gave me non-stop issues… again, when I got my kickrbike I think I tried bluetooth but just had issues left and right.
Since someone I think on this forum even told me to get a UB400, I haven’t had a single issue.
Similar but unrelated issue; whatever change was made to the connection workflow this year I do appreciate and has worked well for me.
I can now finally connect/disconnect steering on my Kickrbike, and the next boot of Zwift I don’t have to force the OK to go to the menu after disconnecting steering again… finally!
I had a UB400, I’ve also tried UB500 and a Plugable (which was stable until today). I’ve also messed with different combos of USB2/3 slots and swapped cables.
I’m definitely running out of ideas, unless you’ve just got some weird version of windows that you’re installing or otherwise. To be fair I’m still on Windows10 and haven’t found a reason yet to upgrade my computer at home used for Zwift and youtube…
Only other things I’m wondering are how you operate the kickrbike? For example, is it always plugged in 24/7? I’m wondering if it’s just some weird sleep issue, or relating to that.
I have everything on my end connected to a power outlet that has a switch on it, so it’s all powered down / disconnected until just before I start Zwift, same with the USB stuff, on a switched USB extension.
So my process is literally… flip USB switch, turn on power outlet, turn on TV, force Windows to see connected devices (because it doesn’t like to find the TV for some reason), and then launch Zwift.
At which point I go and fill and prep my bottles and get my kit on, but I usually see all devices connect and the main menu appear within a minute without me touching anything.
Me too. This sounds very unusual and the good ideas have been tried. With the UB400/UB500 dongles, no special driver should be needed or useful. I’ve used both of those dongles with Windows 10 and 11 with no issues, with a Wahoo trainer but not a Kickr Bike. Plus pairing via Companion didn’t help, which rules out the dongles since they aren’t used in that case. If this were a general problem I would expect to hear more noise about it, but I’m not sure where the issue is.
There’s a dropdown for the hardware version, and the drivers are different.
Typically, reinstalling drivers from the Bluetooth manufacturer (whether it is TPLink, Intel, et al) is the best approach rather than using an automated tool like a computer manufacturer’s support platform or Windows Update, particularly for Bluetooth controllers. In some instances, when there are “variants” of hardware such as with this UB500 device, they are similar enough that installing a driver for a different version may somewhat work, but it can lead to other software anomalies along the way - such as what you’re experiencing, like not seeing the entire driver information, or things failing to enumerate properly.
It’s the only thing that I can think of, considering you seem to have gone through extensive troubleshooting steps based on what I’ve read through. Check the “dropdown” list to make sure you have the correct hardware version for your dongle - download that driver and see whether that resolves the issue.
I do not own this dongle so I cannot ascertain an example to the description provided, beyond that it states:
“IMPORTANT: Model and hardware version availability varies by region. Please refer to your TP-Link regional website to determine product availability.”
This is also a good point, generally speaking. Certainly a weird issue.
It doesn’t entirely rule out dongle troubleshooting/system troubleshooting, as there could well be a separate networking or other issue pertaining to Companion, or (less likely, but possible), significant enough Bluetooth interference within the area that it’s not a stable environment for this use case. Unlikely, but not impossible - it can happen.
Also, less likely but not impossible, it could be an issue with the Bluetooth radio or hardware of the trainer itself.
I would see whether other Bluetooth devices can connect to the dongle to see whether the dongle or Bluetooth is working at the most basic level. Bluetooth Low Energy for Fitness Equipment is less tolerant to errors than peripheral use such as keyboards and mice and Bluetooth File Transfer.
I agree Bluetooth interference could still be a problem, but the dongle hardware seems an unlikely culprit. Bluetooth on the phone or WiFi bridging the phone could still be a factor. Or perhaps if no Bluetooth device is the problem, then interference becomes a more likely cause, or the trainer. I’m generally skeptical of the jump to BLE interference as a problem since in PCs it’s usually something else, but sometimes that is the answer. It’s tough to identify or control so it’s the hardest thing to resolve. If the trainer is the problem then I would expect a greater likelihood of it showing up in other apps running on the same devices such as the Wahoo app or other cycling apps. My best advice for dealing with interference is to relocate all the equipment to somewhere else in the house and see if there’s a different result.
The biggest thing I have seen with other Zwifters, is that the system they are using didn’t properly update the Bluetooth drivers - Windows Update and their manufacturer left them with out-of-date drivers, and some update within Windows caused those older drivers to become less efficient with Bluetooth Low Energy Fitness Equipment, even though other devices - such as peripherals - worked seemingly “fine”, drop-outs or other issues occurred while trying to Zwift, and updating those drivers has generally remedied that.
But since that has been tried - to a radical extent of reinstalling everything, the nuances are in there being different “versions” of that dongle available, potential interference, or multiple issues causing something.
Bluetooth interference is rarely the cause but hard to visualize, and relocating the equipment is the best next step to your point and trying again.
I’m genuinely curious when Matt finally resolves this (see, that’s confidence that it will be resolved!!!), what the ultimate root cause was.
Yea my initial assumption was something broken in the drivers or windows in general. Have reinstalled drivers after updates (windows and Zwift) as well. Also obviously only have 1 bte adaptor active at once
kickr bike wise I did go back and forth with wahoo a lot and was advised to keep the wahoo apps off my phone and pc in case it was grabbing the device, same for Zwift on a nearby Apple TV.
I unplug the bike between use, then turn it back on before opening Zwift app.
The number of officially supported connections for the Wahoo trainers via Bluetooth is “3”. One may be used for “Control”, all “3” should be able to “Read”.
It’s dubious that you have an environment exceeding that amount.
If you control the KICKR BIKE with just the Wahoo app (open the Wahoo app on your phone and use the Record feature - you can choose whether or not to record), does the bike respond normally when you go through those options, like “Simulation” or “Target Power” while pedaling? That would operate the bike at the most basic level and ensure that the interface with your bike and a control device is working normally.
ANT+ FE-C (FE-C is the option you need to use as Control) should otherwise work - it’s peculiar that you cannot even fall back to this. ANT+ on its own will only “Read”.
Yea the bike works perfectly on any other app and platform. TP Virtual, Wahoo, and Trainer Road. It also works fine on Zwift the vast majority of the time between updates. This is why I’m defaulting to it being a Zwift update issue.
Hi @Matt_Wheeler
Since this issue has spanned several game versions - let’s track this apart from any specific game release thread.
The helpful experts in our community are doing a great job suggesting steps to eliminate suspects. But to investigate your specific situation more deeply - the Zwift Support Team needs to handle that with you by directly and look at local log files on your machine We don’t allow text file uploads to this forum to reduce malware exposure for starters, and the forum isn’t great for detailed one-on-one troubleshooting in any case. Please reach out the Support Team and let’s take this offline.
That’s a weird one for sure. Personally with pluggables I am more reliant on the drivers that are preloaded on the devices or instantly downloaded by the system.
At least then I know I’m “with the majority” of expected users when I do it that way; but I also haven’t run into issues like that since… Windows ME (I wish I was kidding, I did indeed have an M.E. machine)
